Between The Lines

Timely, In-Depth Progressive Analysis

Between The Lines is a weekly syndicated half-hour news magazine featuring progressive perspectives on national and international political, economic and social issues. Squeaky Wheel Productionsis our 501(c)(3) nonprofit production company and distributor.

Because Between The Lines is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves. This award-winning program provides a platform for individuals and organizations generally ignored or marginalized in corporate media.

Each week, Between The Lines features:

A five-minute summary of some of the week’s under-reported news stories gathered from the alternative press and other sources.

Three in-depth interview segments focusing on significant international, national and regional issues.

History

In the days leading up to the Persian Gulf War in 1991, non-commercial WPKN Radio’s (Bridgeport, CT) public affairs producers Scott Harris, and Denise Manzari, along with other contributors, created Between The Lines, a half-hour radio newsmagazine to probe the causes and conduct of the conflict. After the Persian Gulf War ended, the program’s producers continued broadcasting Between The Lines, but with a broader focus: providing a platform for activists, journalists and academics generally ignored or marginalized in the corporate media. The program’s primary focus is to provide a substantive progressive alternative to corporate news obsessed with violent crime, celebrities and “infotainment.”

In 2004, the producers established Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc., a non-profit organization to distribute Between The Lines and other community media projects. In addition to distributing Between The Lines to radio stations and websites each week, Squeaky Wheel Productions organizes public education events in the U.S. and internationally. Our tax-exempt fiscal sponsor was The International Center for Global Communications Foundation, Inc. (dba The Global Center), based in New York City. Squeaky Wheel Productions now has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Since 1991, Between The Lines has provided in-depth, timely analysis on a wide range of political, economic and social issues including: the history and consequences of two U.S. wars with Iraq; increasing disparity in wealth in the U.S.; coverage of the global social justice movement and related protests challenging the free trade, corporate-driven policies of the World Trade Organization and World Bank/International Monetary Fund; post-9/11 erosion of civil liberties; constitutional protections and international law in the U.S.; progressive electoral victories sweeping Latin America; the crisis in the U.S. health care system; international grassroots mobilization to confront global climate change; racism permeating the prison industrial complex; efforts to repair flaws in the U.S. electoral system and increasing opposition to a new nuclear arms race in space.

Our Goal: Supporting Citizen Activism

In presenting interviews connected with current events, political issues and societal debates, the program serves as a networking resource for communities fighting for social justice here in the U.S. and around the world.

Each week’s program offers timely information on how to become active on issues we cover. Every interview segment features information about pertinent websites to facilitate contact between our audience members and groups taking a stand on critical issues of the day.

Between The Lines’ website offers text summaries, selected interview transcripts, an audio archive of our past programs and links to additional resources. The website offers subscriptions to our weekly program and transcripts via podcasts, RSS feed and email — and a gateway to our online community.

Who We Are

Between The Lines’ production staff includes journalists and community activists who have a passion for disseminating information and viewpoints that all too rarely reach the public. Our producers and writers are affiliated with community and professional media and non-governmental organizations. They contribute to regional and national media.

News

Scott Harris, executive producer and co-founder

Scott is executive producer of “Between The Lines” radio newsmagazine and host of the two-hour live talk show Counterpoint heard Monday evenings 8 to 10 p.m. on WPKN Radio 89.5 FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as well as board president and co-founder of Squeaky Wheel Productions. He is the founder, past president and a board member of the Norwalk, CT-Nagarote, Nicaragua Sister City Project, 1986-present. Scott currently serves as a director of a Connecticut-based halfway house program facilitating the reintegration of residents returning from prison back into the community.

Melinda Tuhus, producer

Melinda has been a staff reporter or independent journalist for the past 30 years, and has won numerous regional and international awards for her work. She focuses on reporting on the environment, women’s issues and criminal justice reforms. Based in New Haven, CT, she hasreported from South Africa, Israel/the West Bank, Haiti, New Orleans and the Louisiana Gulf Coast, and West Virginia, the site of massive mountaintop removal coal operations.

She has contributed a weekly segment to Between the Lines since 2000. She also had her own show, The Forest & the Trees: Global and Local Perspectives on the Environment, on WPKN radio for 15 years, and has reported for several Connecticut radio stations and several national radio programs, including Free Speech Radio News, WINGS and Making Contact, as well as magazines such as In These Times and The Progressive, and online outlets including Indian Country Media Network. Her past work has appeared in the New Haven Independent, The New York Times and many local and regional publications. She is also Squeaky Wheel Productions’ board secretary.

Bob Nixon, newswriter

Bob Nixon is a longtime news editor, digging out “under-reported news” for Between the Lines since its founding in 1991 and board member of Squeaky Wheel Productions. Bob worked for over a decade in for various newspapers in southern Connecticut and suburban Westchester, New York. For 20 years, Bob has been active in numerous interfaith and community projects. Bob believes in the power of progressive philanthropy to grow social movements and a supporter of the North Star Fund in NYC and immigrants rights work like member-led Brandworkers.

Web Production and Distribution

Anna Manzo, senior web editor / producer, narrator

Anna has been active on human rights and socioeconomic issues and was a freelance journalist for national, regional and local publications, as well as event organizing, beginning in 1986. She has worked in software development and support at Purdue and Indiana universities, as well as technical writer / multimedia project manager for corporate clients, and made a career change to journalism, spending 16 years as copy editor at a city daily newspaper. Since volunteering with Between The Lines in 1996, she has been passionate about using her writing and software development work experience to disseminate under-reported news and views. She has been instrumental in nationally syndicating Between The Lines since 1999, shortly after the World Trade Organization protest in Seattle, and as board vice president, is one of the co-founding board members of Squeaky Wheel Productions.

Susan Bramhall, web editor / producer

Susan is retired from a 46-year career in software development and enjoys putting her experience and knowledge to good use for great non-profits like Squeaky Wheel Productions’ Between The Lines radio newsmagazine. Susan has been a board member for the New Haven / Leon Sister City Project for three decades serving as president, treasurer and fundraising chair. She and her husband, Shelly Altman, are currently leaders in the New Haven chapter of Jewish Voice For Peace working for a just future for Palestinians and fighting Islamophobia and racism in our local communities.

Jeff Yates, web producer

Jeff has volunteered with Between The Lines since 2000 and has been instrumental in marketing Between The Lines on the Internet to radio stations and the public via social media and other audio aggregator sites. He believes it’s important for progressive voices to have a platform in today’s new media.

Reggie Johnson, blogger

Reginald Johnson is a long-time journalist in Connecticut and lives in Bridgeport. He’s been a reporter and editor on a number of different publications including the Connecticut Post, The New Haven Register and Fairpress. He’s also written for The New YorkTimes, BBC-online, the Op-Ed News and Connecticut Magazine.

He writes from a progressive standpoint on a range of key issues — the erosion of civil liberties, the influence of national intelligence agencies, U.S. wars of intervention, corporate power, the environment, and mainstream media bias.

Board Members

Other Board Members

Denise Manzari, co-founder

Denise has been a radio broadcaster since 1982. She co-founded and was co-producer of the award-winning syndicated radio newsmagazine Between the Lines, which continues to cover news and ideas often overlooked by the corporate media and is broadcast in the U.S. and abroad on more than 50 radio stations. She is also treasurer of Squeaky Wheel Productions. She has reported extensively on the issues in Latin America and interviewed labor leader and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, Cesar Chavez as well as many individuals at the grassroots level on environmental, indigenous and world struggles.

She covered the 50th anniversary of the UN in New York where Fidel Castro visited the United States for the first time since 1961, then visited Cuba and contributed to the Cuba in Focus program at WBAI in New York City, as well as news segments on Pacifica Radio News.

Denise interviewed Xanana Gusmao, East Timorese independence leader who would later become president of East Timor. Her passion is to seek truth and justice in a world that all too often doesn’t seem to provide either.

Richard Hill, independent producer and narrator

Richard is a public affairs producer for WPKN in Bridgeport, Connecticut and host of The Organic Farm Stand, Mic Check, Resistance Round Table and First Tuesday Rainy Day Radio and a board member of Squeaky Wheel Productions. He teaches a media literacy program to middle and high school students in Connecticut that has produced and broadcast over 70 youth radio shows. Richard is also a musician, a composer and the director of Mikata, a 10-piece Salsa and Latin jazz band. Richard is also the composer of Between The Lines’ theme music, both old and new.

Elaine Osowski, narrator

Elaine is a narrator of Between The Lines and has many years of nonprofit management experience. She is a board member of Squeaky Wheel Productions.

Leslie Rudden, narrator

Leslie is a narrator of Between The Lines and has many years of nonprofit management experience. She is a board member of Squeaky Wheel Productions.

Hank Hoffman

Hank Hoffman is programming director at Best Video Film & Cultural Center in Hamden, Connecticut. He writes on the arts for The Arts Paper, which is published by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. For many years, he was a news and arts writer for the New Haven Advocate, covering local issues as well as such national events as the anti-globalization demonstrations against the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Hoffman has also written for In These Times and Alternet.

Catherine Urbain

Catherine is a writer and publicist for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Yale University and board member of Squeaky Wheel Productions. She has an extensive history working as a grant writer and fundraiser for non-profit organizations including The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, The Edgerton Center for the Arts at Sacred Heart University and the Connecticut Audubon Society. She has worked on numerous corporate and federal grants including submissions to the National Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the Arts. A longtime activist, Cat has served on boards of the Norwalk-Nagarote Sister City Project and Ethiopia’s Daughters. She also has extensive experience working for film, television and radio networks including Thirteen/WNET and WBAI radio.

Marco Roldan

Marco Roldán is a freelance producer, director of photography, editor, fine artist and founder of Proud Eye Media and board member of Squeaky Wheel Productions. Marco specializes in the production of educational children’s television programs, documentary and independent feature films. Proud Eye Media’s most recent work includes the environmental documentary “Farewell Fish” (Chao Pescao) about the projected building of three coal power plants near protected marine sanctuaries in northern Chile. Marco also produced the award-winning feature film “Dead Dog”, (Perro Muerto), during 2010, winner of Best Chilean movie at the Valdivia Film Festival in 2010, and Best Opera Prima at the Trieste Film Festival in Italy in 2011, nominated for Best Latinamerican film at the Toulousse Film festival and Chicago Latin film Festival in 2012.This film was just awarded film of Excellence at the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards.

Join our Activist Network

Listeners/activists: Subscribe to Between The Lines’ weekly podcasts, program summaries and interview transcripts via email.

Radio Stations: Between The Lines is available for broadcast via podcast/MP3 download and Pacifica Radio Network’s Ku band satellite system. More information on becoming a Between The Lines affiliate can be found here.

Print Publications: Transcripts of selected interviews are available for reprint in newsletters, magazines or community/university newspapers.

Online Publications: Audio files of each week’s program and transcripts are available for posting on websites.

To get more details on Between The Lines or Squeaky Wheel Productions or make a donation, contact: Between The Lines c/o Squeaky Wheel Productions, P.O. Box 110176, Trumbull, CT 06611 Phone: (203) 268-8446 www.squeakywheel.net

Progressive, independent analysis

Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 community media organization. Our weekly radio newsmagazine, Between The Lines, is supported by contributions from our listeners, and distributed to over 50 community radio stations and webcasting outlets. Please do your part to keep these voices and viewpoints on the air!